European Expressive Arts Spring Symposium 2017

The International Network of Expressive Arts Therapy Training Centers invites colleagues and students from all over the world to participate in the Advanced Spring Symposium of Expressive Arts. It will be held in the charming medieval town of Vadstena, Sweden, April 18 - 23, 2017. Also practitioners of related fields are warmly welcomed.

The theme, Odin and Freya – Songs of Love and Wisdom, will take us back to the time before the Norse people had converted to Christianity. The "Poetic Edda", or "Elder Edda", is a collection of poems about the myths and lives of the Norse people (during the time of the Vikings). It offers us many rich stories of gods and great human heroes. Another resource from Norse pre-Christian times are the vivid Icelandic Sagas, which have inspired many film-and movie makers. Norse mythology opens up to a sophisticated world of polytheistic deities and animistic beliefs with the perception that consciousness, or spirit, is a quality of the entire world and not only the possession of humanity. Everything has the potential to communicate with other beings - verbally, non-verbally or intuitively. The gods and goddesses are complex and powerful forces of nature and of this world who interact with humans. Two prominent deities - Odin and Freya - will guide and inspire our work at this 30th symposium.